last year

I was moving pictures to our external hard drive and decided to look at the pictures I took last year, June 10. This is what I found.

What a difference a year makes!

Tuck is obviously drastically different but Grey Bear...that little boy. He has lost most of his chub and is turning into such a big boy! I might be mentioning that a lot seeing as I have been overly emotional about it this week. It's a joy to watch them both grow and be in all the little moments as they do so.

today

i ate almost half of a watermelon. all by myself.


i watched grey laugh so hard that i had tears running down my cheeks.


i missed matthew a whole heck of a lot. 


i wished i had more time in the day.


i enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by haley. 


i got really frustrated and then realized that these moments pass too quickly. 


i watched grey fall sound asleep and didn't want to leave his side. 


i cut beautiful flowers from the yard and enjoyed them in the windowsill. 


i was gently reminded that following Jesus comes with a cost that is worth every single bit of it.


i listened as grey and tucker played together and was so thankful that i was there for it.


i tried to organize myself and failed. miserably.


i realized how incredibly thankful i am for my husband. again.


i felt the grace of God that overwhelmed me to the point of tears.


i watched grey dress himself and ride a bike all by himself and realized he is becoming a little boy.


i sang a lot with my children.


i held tucker as he snuggled into my chest and fell asleep.


i savored the moments of today. 

full swing

Summer is in full swing! We have been, will be, and are busy with all sorts of fun things. 

Two birthday celebrations in May for two sweet boys. In remembrance of celebrating Tuck's birthday last weekend... 

just so I don't forget how much he loves cake.

Matthew (and both of our dads at different times) has been busy working on our deck. It is looking awesome and is going to be gargantuan! He is in Ohio for the week with a group of students and adults helping some local churches with various things. His summer always looks a little different than ours but our paths do cross every now and again :)

We planted a few vegetables this summer in some containers and have already enjoyed some zucchini! All of our flowers are in full bloom and look beautiful. I have been cutting them and enjoying them inside. 

We are enjoying summer picnics and yard work until it's dark. 

Greer celebrated her 3rd birthday at the zoo yesterday. The boys and I drove down and enjoyed a great day of celebrating. Grey adores Greer and I don't think Tucker is too far behind. She is so FULL of life and a joy to be around. I am so grateful that Grey and Tucker have loads of cousins within months of their ages. Tucker and Luke are getting acquainted with one another and will be chasing each other soon enough. For now they will practice dressing one another.

We joined the Y for the summer (hopfully year 'round but the summer for now) and I am really enjoying working out. We have taken advantage of the ridiculously awesome pool and water park area. Grey has taken to swimming this summer which if you have been around him and water at all in his lifetime, you will understand this is a BIG deal! Matthew and I are stoked about this adventurous spirit!

 Summer has just begun and we have jumped in full force. We still have lots more fireflies to catch and hopefully Grey will get up the courage to not only chase and clap at them, but let one land on his hand. 

More bubble blowing

hopscotching 

and enjoying the summer 

is on tap for us. 

We have much traveling to accomplish, camps, birthday celebrations, an anniversary trip, a trip to the beach, more swimming, friends, and all the greatness that I enjoy about summer!

following the watermelon

After eating watermelon together, Matthew and I decided it would be a really good idea to pull out the hose and just squirt the boys off. They are boys and they are messy. I'm really wondering what our neighbors must have thought as they saw us squirting our children with a hose and then laughing our heads off at them. Why were we laughing so hard?

Exhibit A.

 

Exhibit B.

and so on.

and so forth.

these were all, in the end, faces of delight. they just look like he's being tortured.

He always came back for more. and more. and more. 

Tuck and Tuck alone ended up in the mud. Where he would much rather be than anywhere else. 

so grey got the hose this time. and got to squirt his brother off. well that was fun for all of us!

shirtless and watermelon

mmm cake

Thanks to Greg we have some really great pictures to remember Tuck's first birthday party! Let me just say that this boy LOVED some cake. I think that was most definitely the highlight of his party. It was enjoyable to watch him enjoy it so much. We had such a good time celebrating a special life.